(FREE STUFF – POETRY)

The 9th summer of his childhood
he decides
instead of being blind
or a black woman
or a busty country singer
or a pig
or the neighbor girl named Fern
or a school bus
he will be a tennis player

Racquet and balls
appear

He has always played alone
against invisible foes
this is no different
against the house
he battles for advantage

He memorizes statistics and lives
in intricate detail
meshes the patterns and strategies
with what he knows
of existence

Makes himself
again

Eventual cold forces him in
but it also drives his family to surrender
the living room
dead space
he serves the ball

Circles of plastered impact
a single front of warfare
break-point yellow bullets
riddle the wall
between

Victory
is love
a hole punched through
divided emptiness
fallen within

The 10th summer of his childhood
he lays down the racquet
and is blind